


Dirk, talk to Dave

by MercyOhJeez



Category: Homestuck
Genre: "Comfy angst", Angst, Basically just angst, Can be read as friendship, Dave and Dirk just talk, Dave is the best person to talk to, Dirk deserved better than the epilogues, Dirk talks about his feelingsTM, Fluff, Gen, LITERALLY, Light Angst, Minor Dave Strider/Karkat Vantas, Second chapter is a big mix between some weird fluff and angst, Shhhh just read dont concern yourself with the timeline, The Homestuck Epilogues, although it's kinda before they start?, angst is handled so that you're actually fairly comfortable reading it isntead of just PAINTM, evidence: He lives with Karkat, long overdue conversations, should be a thing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-16 00:02:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29444529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MercyOhJeez/pseuds/MercyOhJeez
Summary: Something strange was going on. Not that that would've been an abnormal situation, but it was a different kind of strange.The sort of strange where Dirk had called Dave in a hurry, and hung up abruptly after asking if he'd come over."Dave, I know this seems like something I would say ironically, but I need to talk to you, and I'm serious." Dirk had said it the moment Dave picked up, then immediately hung up.
Kudos: 5





	1. Dirk, talk to Dave

Something strange was going on. Not that that would've been an abnormal situation, but it was a different kind of strange.   
The sort of strange where Dirk had called Dave in a hurry, and hung up abruptly after asking if he'd come over.

"Dave, I know this seems like something I would say ironically, but I need to talk to you, and I'm serious." Dirk had said it the moment Dave picked up, then immediately hung up.

It wasn't strange that Dirk was being serious, his stoic face never said anything but serious, but the waver in his voice was what made Dave nervous. No matter how hard Dirk tried to conceal it, Dave saw through the forced flatness of his tone. He had used it himself for too long not to notice. He left as soon as he could, which was after he told Karkat he was out to see Dirk, that had earned him a concerned look, and a few words of affirmation. Karkat didn't question that Dave was leaving at 4AM to go talk to Dirk, he understood it was something important.

The time it took for Dave to get to Dirk's home was longer than he wanted, yet too short to let him gather his thoughts. He didn't hesitate about coming over, but on second thought he should've questioned why Dirk called him.  
Dirk was never much of a caller, he usually texted people, or completely ignored them. So when his phone lit up with the caller ID he gave Dirk he was surprised. Although it was a welcome surprise, he hadn't truly processed what Dirk had said.

Dave knocked on the door three times out of habit. It silently opened with nobody behind it, it was already open. He took it as a sign that he was welcome, and wandered in. He hadn't seen much of Dirk's home, if he would even call it a home at all. Sure, it was a house that somebody lived in, but the air seemed colder than your usual apartment. There was nothing homeliness to it. No lights were turned on, but through the darkness he could see a few posters hanging from the walls, seemingly old and slightly damaged. Unfinished robotics project were littered across some of the surfaces, the metal gleaming in whatever light they could catch. 

"Dirk?" Normally Dave would add something ironic or funny after anything he said, and go off of that thing to say more funny and ironic things, but it didn't seem like that was a necessary addition to his statement. He didn't get an answer, and contemplated callout out his name again, but he didn't need to. A tall, slender figure made its way out off one of the doors, movement slow, and slightly wavering. It seemed unsure of its movement. Dave recognized it as Dirk, even though he wasn't acting like himself. "Dirk! You got me worried there, y'know, inviting me over and then not showing up in your own home?" Dirk laughed through his nose and his shoulders jerked upwards slightly. 

"An asshole move, right? Right after saying I was serious. I'm not that much of a douchebag," Dirk said, his voice was still wavering in the same way it had over the phone. "At least I think not." Dave caught on to why he was there when he said that. He knew Dirk had been emotionally unstable from the moment they met, and it was finally time for a conversation long overdue. Dave walked towards the small couch and waved Dirk over, sitting him down, then went over to the small kitchen and grabbed them both a glass of water, setting both on the coffee table. He sat down at the other end of the short couch, pulled up his legs to face Dirk.

Dirk took a deep breath, contemplated how to asses the situation, and then let go of said breath, he wanted to say something, but he just didn't know how to. "Like the first time we met, lightning round?" He said after a few more seconds, the silence unbearable. Dave nodded. 

The way Dave sat on the couch made it extremely obvious his guard was down, yet it was the complete opposite for Dirk. His posture was unnaturally stiff, his hands on his knees and glaring at the glass of water Dave had gotten him like it was poison. "Sure, lightning round sounds good, but we have to be completely honest, you up for that?" Dave asked, Dirk tensed up a little more, but his shoulders relaxed as he sighed.

"Yes, okay." 

"So I'm gonna start real blunt, why am I here?" Dave was done waiting, his brain had been working over-hours to explain it, and though he thought he knew he wanted to hear it from Dirk.

Dirk didn't immediately answer, seemingly taking his time to think, "Because we need to talk about some serious stuff." Dave heard how cautiously he was saying it, as if he was testing the waters.

"What is that 'stuff'?"

Dirk sighed again, a practiced movement of the lungs, then he took off his shades and laid them down next to the glass of water. He picked it up and drank a bit, thinking.

"Dirk?"

"Man, I don't know. There's so much going on in my head and- and-" He caught himself and forcefully shut his mouth, shutting up before he said too much. His voice had cracked, he was on the verge of crying. 

Dave took off his sunglasses, laid them next to his own glass of water. Dave never knew how to deal with people being emotional around him, but he was forced to learn how to handle those situations with Karkat being in his vicinity most of the time. "Take your time, dude, I'm listening." Dave picked up his glass of water and held it close to his chest, resting it there.

Dirk blinked three times rhythmically, then put one of his hands to his eyes, tilted his head back and took a deep, wavering, breath. He let go of it after a few seconds. Dave took a good look at Dirk's expression, seeing how his eyebrows were knit together in frustration, yet how they relaxed a second later into a slight frown as he tilted his head back forward and let his hand fall to his lap. 

He looked sad and tired, no, exhausted. He looked like he hadn't seen sunlight for years, like fresh air would be a luxury for him. The eyebags he carried dark like the circles around them, lips in what seemed in a permanent straight line. His posture so stiff and his jaw clenched like he'd never open it again. There were tears in his eyes, but the way he frowned made Dave think he hadn't cried in years. He unclenched his jaw and opened his mouth to speak again, but his thoughts hadn't gathered enough to make a comprehensible sentence yet. 

A minute of comfortable, yet tense silence passed. Dave waited patiently as Dirk found his words.   
He had thought of how this conversation would go so many times, but in the moment where he was actually put on the spot to say the words he meant to say, he couldn't. The tears in his eyes couldn't say it for him, the lump in his throat couldn't either. He couldn't say he's been feeling depressed, demotivated, and had been thinking so much his head felt so clouded and full that it felt like it was going to explode. He couldn't say out loud that he was sick of seeing his friend's relationships unravel at the seams, that he didn't actually feel like Jane winning the election would be the best things, he couldn't say it, because he hadn't admitted it to himself yet. These were all things he wanted to say out loud and admit, but he wasn't emotionally ready to.   
What he wasn't willing to admit is how much he still thought about Jake, how sorry he was, how guilty he felt.

"If you don't know where to start, I don't know how to respond." Dave said, his tone fairly flat, yet deeply concerned and caring. "I promise that whatever you say, I won't judge. It's all no-judge town up here, y'know? Judgement? I've never heard of it, must be from out of town." Dave cracked a smile. Dirk knew that he was completely sincere, it was just his way of saying things. The Strider way of saying things. 

Dirk took another sip of his water, then finally steadied his voice enough to say more than three words without it cracking, "Living on your own with a robot that is exactly like your annoying thirteen year old self does a number on your mental health." Dave's expression didn't change, he just nodded. "It isn't really fun, having to look up to a celebrity as a comparison to yourself. You start to think more, and more, and more of that celebrity, and less, and less of yourself. At least, that is what should've happened. My ego was just too big to do so." Dirk smiled as a tear dropped down his cheek, onto his lap. He wiped the tear-track off his cheek, only for it to be replaced immediately. Dave took another sip, his glass still fairly full. 

Dirk changed the way his legs were positioned on the couch, and turned towards Dave. Slowly he let his guard down as he felt more comfortable talking. Sure, it was a hard topic to breach, and Dirk wasn't exactly a man of emotions, but being around Dave, who was the source of a lot of his problems in another life, made him be more at ease. Another small silence fell over them as Dirk collected his thoughts and studied Dave's reaction. There wasn't much to study, Dirk didn't know what it meant that Dave wasn't replying, nor showing much emotion at all. The slightest movement of Dave's eyebrows made him think, was it a scowl? A frown?  
At the very least, Dave didn't look pleased. What he did look like, was the embodiment of comfort, somebody you can talk to. It wasn't a look of pity resting on his face, but of understanding. For the first time in years, Dirk felt understood.

"You say that, but there's more to it than that, right?" Dave saw that Dirk wasn't going to tell him more if he didn't react. Dirk nodded, slowly, cautiously. "You know that that isn't the only thing, but you don't know what else made you as your mind has made you out to be." Dirk shook his head, no, he knew exactly what made him who he was.

He opened his mouth to correct Dave, but he hadn't yet found the words to correct him with. He closed his eyes, eyebrows furrowed in something that seemed like regret, sadness. "You know what happened with Jake and I-"

"If you seriously still feel guilty about how you handled your relationship with Jake, we are actually going to be here all night."

"Then it'll be all night." Dirk didn't hesitate to throw in a smart response right after Dave was done with his. It was natural, a habit. Dave didn't mind, he was glad Dirk was being so open about how he felt. He honestly thought he would have to pry into the layers upon layers of Dirk's mind before he'd open up. 

"It'll be all night." Dave echoed. 

Dirk took a deep breath and smiled back. Dave didn't need to hear him say to know Dirk was thanking him. 

"Okay, but do you want me to fuckin' lecture you on why you don't have to feel guilty about a relationship you were in when you were sixteen, or is there something else you want to say first?" 

"Bro don't lecture me, just discuss with me about it, I guess I just need somebody else to actually say it..." Dirk took a swig of his water to break up his sentences, "To talk about it." His voice got very quiet.

"So, you feel guilty about something you did when you were sixteen, had just had your first actual social contact in literally forever?" Dirk nodded.

"When you put it like that, it sounds dumb. Don't get me wrong, it is dumb, but that doesn't make the feeling less prominent." He said, slightly gesturing with his hands in small motions. "Invalidating my thoughts doesn't mean they're not still there." 

Dave leaned back on the armrest, leaning the half full glass of water against his chest and sighing, "You know I'm just asking, not trying to invalidate how you feel." Dirk nodded. "The things you did as a sixteen year old aren't relevant to who you are anymore. You apologized to Jake, and he did so too." Dave was choosing his words carefully, yet he still talked fairly fast, almost his normal pace.

"But it still doesn't feel right! I treated him like shit, he- he didn't deserve that!" He seemed angry, but Dave knew he was just frustrated at his past self's actions. "I just dragged him everywhere, it was so forced it hurts to think about it. In contrary to him I deserved everything that came at-"

"I'm gonna stop you right there." Dave caught one of Dirk's hands, which were still making small gestures, in his own, getting Dirk's attention. "No matter how much you loathe yourself, you didn't deserve to be hurt like that." Dave sighed in recognition of Dirk's words, "Don't forget that even though we reached god-tier, we're still human. No matter how good your poker face is, or how many emotions we can hide behind those shades, we are still human." Dave didn't let go of Dirk's hand, softly rubbing his thumb over the back of it, "It wasn't your fault, and neither was it Jake's. You can blame it on yourself all you want, but that isn't going to change the fact you were just a dumb teenage boy." 

A comfortable silence fell over them, both glasses of water were emptied during that time as Dave gave Dirk the chance to think over what he had said. Dave didn't want to grab his phone, but it kept buzzing with messages, annoying both him and Dirk. So he grabbed the empty glasses and walked over to the kitchen, leaving Dirk to fend on his own for a bit.  
He found out he had about forty messages from Katkat, asking him about 'What the fuck you two numbwits are talking about' that was taking Dave so long to come back. Dave sent a quick, vague, and half-ironic text back telling him it's a serious conversation, but also something about Obama? He took a glance at the time, it being two hours later than it was when he arrived. He then sent Karkat another message he was probably staying over at Dirk's, without anything witty or ironic after it.

He came back to a silently crying Dirk, who was folded in on himself with his knees up to his chest. Dave smiled sadly at the sight. A broken man sat before him, one who had held his emotions in for so long it started to take away at his mental health. Dave sat down in his place again and took the same position he had at first. Dave motioned for Dirk to start talking again.

So he did, "You could probably guess why I became a shut-in again after so long." He motioned for Dirk to elaborate, "Y'know, the feeling of everybody despising you, thinking you're not good enough to be around them, see them smile," His voice wavered more with every sentence.

"Thank you for inviting me, then. I can confirm that although you have made your mistakes, none of us hate you," Dave smiled, "Especially not Jake," Dirk perked up at that and lifted his head off of his knees.

"What do you mean especially not Jake?" He questioned, the arms around his legs relaxing a little.

"He's been talking to me ever since you stopped talking to... Well everybody, but he's worried about you! He wants his best friend back, hell, at various times he apologized to me about what he did to you, to 'relay' the message, even though I couldn't get a grip on you either!" Dave saw Dirk shrink back into himself with guilt, "Although I don't blame you for that. You've been going through some rough shit, I know that. Sometimes it's easier to just ignore everything going on around you, but it will never make anything easier. Next time you feel like that again, just call me." Dave smiled at Dirk, "Hell, you could even call Jake, or Roxy, even Jane for that matter. I'm sure Rose and Kanaya would make time for you too." Dirk smiled sadly. Dave nodded reassuringly.

Dirk yawned slightly and blinked a few times, "Could you put on a pot of coffee?" 

"Nope, not doing that, dude," Dave forced himself up off of the couch, and held a hand out to Dirk, "We're gonna get you to bed, and you're actually gonna sleep for the first time in, what, how many months?" Dirk held up three fingers, "Three? Dude, c'mon, get up, you're gonna go sleep. I'm gonna stay by your side until you fall asleep." Dirk smiled at him and took the hand Dave offered him. He got up with his help, and motioned Dave to walk with him.

Dirk's room was messy, but in a controlled way. Sure, there were clothes all over the floor, but his desk looked neat and his bed was made. Dave took the chair from the desk and sat it next to the bed as Dirk got comfortable. He tucked him in, like a good brother would, and sat back down on the chair, pulling out his phone and texting Karkat while keeping an eye on Dirk. Once his breath evened out and his muscles relaxed Dave felt comfortable enough to go back into the living room and text Karkat goodnight as he fell asleep on the couch.


	2. Dirk, talk to Jake

A few days had gone by, and Dirk had called Dave more than once.   
Dave didn't mind, it felt like a weight was taken off of his chest, knowing that Dirk was actually trying to better himself. 

During those talks Dirk had brought up Jake a handful of times, how he still felt bad, and should've made different choices. Ultimately that would lead into Dave going on what basically was the same rant every time. Dirk didn't mind. He slowly started talking to people again, first Roxy, then Rose. Dave was very delighted when he got an enthusiastic text from Rose, telling him about how Dirk reached out to her.

However, Dirk refused to talk to Jake. Dave tried to suggest it, only to be met with what sounded like a whimper and a small 'no' from Dirk. So he talked about it, telling him that it might be easier to face his emotions if they were actually physically there in front of him. Dirk kept on refusing, but Dave could hear the hesitance in his voice when he did. 

"Dude if you don't message Jake soon, I'll do it for you." Dave said after a deep breath, clearly frustrated. He wasn't really fed up with Dirk's shit, he just wanted Dirk to do the better thing and talk to Jake.

Dirk didn't actually reply as much as that he just made some sounds, trying to see what words stringed together would convince Dave not to do the exact thing he just threatened to do. 

"Just... hmm... Could you ask him to visit like you did with me?" 

"At 4AM, breaking down crying? No thanks, bro." 

Dave took a minute to think, trying to find a viable solution that Dirk would consider an option. 

Karkat interrupted Dave's talk by walking into the room, clearly confused at why Dave was actually calling somebody on the phone at first. Then he realized it was Dirk again, put his hand on Dave's head and ruffled his hair a bit. He sat down at the other end of the couch. 

"Yo Dirk, is it okay if I get Karkat's opinion on this?" Dave said, seemingly having had a moment of bright thought. Karkat's head snapped up from his phone, looking at Dave with a slight frown. Dirk muttered something Karkat couldn't hear. "I'm gonna put you on speaker, okay?" This time Karkat heard a muffled 'okay' from Dirk as Dave put him on speaker.

"What do you need my help for?" Karkat put emphasis on 'my', and Dave gave him a stern look Karkat was familiar with by now. Dave looked at him like that every time Karkat said something self-deprecating, "No, Dave, you know I'm not good at handling emotions like you are." Dirk could be heard chuckling over the speaker. A little glint of proudness shone in Dave's eyes, since he had been the one to stimulate Dirk into showing more emotion.

"I can't convince Dirk on my own, and I'm starting to second-guess myself." Dave said, tone flat. Karkat motioned for Dave to elaborate, "Dirk should go talk to Jake, right?" 

Karkat took a moment, hand to his mouth, deep in thought. After a minute or two he took away his hand, "Yes. I believe it'd be best if you just talk it out with him. No avoiding, or dancing around each other anymore." Dirk sighed, of course Karkat was going to agree with Dave. "But that's only my opinion, if you want a good opinion, go ask Rose." Dave smiled at Karkat, a soft smile. Karkat got up off of his spot on the couch and disappeared into the kitchen. 

Dirk had already grown a lot in his emotional journey, he could actually talk about how he felt without crying, for a change. He learned to voice his reason, able to create sentences describing how he felt easier.

"That's two against one." Dave said, very tempted to get Dirk on his side. Dirk stayed silent, contemplating. "You've got nothing to worry about, and yes, it'll be awkward, but it'll help!"

Dirk audibly sighed over the phone, "Fine, sure, I'll try to message Jake... I'll do so in the morning, I don't want to wake him up accidentally." Dave nodded, then realized it was a phone call, and said his confirmation.   
He couldn't think of anything else to say, yawned timely, and said goodnight to Dave and Karkat. Dave laid down his phone contently, fairly happy with how the conversation had gone.

The next morning Dirk woke up fairly normally, until he remembered what he promised Dave. His stomach clenched with nerves as he picked up his phone and thought about what to send him.   
About three hours later Dirk had decided not to fuss over it any longer, and sent:

'Hey Jake, I want to talk. Come over whenever you like.'

He instantly regretted pressing the send button.  
A few seconds later Dirk's phone buzzed. Dirk immediately took his hands from his face and checked the screen, and it indeed displayed a message from Jake, saying he was on his way.   
Dirk panicked.   
Now? Jake was headed his way, right that second?! 

'Right now?'  
'You said whenever I'd like!'

Dirk laughed at that, then quickly got ready to actually have somebody other than Dave over. He took off his shades, and decided not to gel his hair back. It hung weirdly around his face, even though he hadn't been taking proper care of it, it felt fairly soft as he ran his hands through it, getting it out of his eyes. 

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. He quickly made his way over, watching his step so he wouldn't seem desperate. He realized he was desperate. Dirk failed to will the nerves in his stomach away as he opened the door.   
There stood Jake, nervously.

"Hi, Dirk." He said, clearly his mind was running over-hours, taking in how Dirk looked. Dirk smiled at him and got out of the doorway to let Jake in.

"Hi." Dirk cringed at his voice, shaking, nervous. He walked back to the couch and sat back in the exact place where he had sat talking with Dave. Jake joined him.

Both sat on the couch, unmoving and stiff. Dirk broke the silence by putting his hands in his hair, ruffling it around while making an annoyed sound, then relaxed and leaned back into it. Jake laughed and loosened up.

"I thought I knew what I was going to say, turns out it's just really hard to do so." Dirk said, putting his hands behind his head and smiling. "So, to collect my mind before I do so, want something to drink?"

Jake nodded, "Do you have any tea?" 

Dirk thought for a second, did he have any tea? "I- I actually don't think I do?" Jake laughed,

"Doesn't surprise me, I know you don't really drink tea." Jake's smile faded a little, "Water will be fine." Dirk got up and took his time getting two glasses of water, his thoughts running wild. 

"So, talking... Hard to start off," Dirk sighed and put the glasses of water on the table like Dave had done, "but I can't begin with anything else than that I'm sorry."

Jake grabbed Dirk's hand, "I know. Dirk, you don't have to apologize again." Tears sprung into Dirk's eyes. Jake said exactly what he needed to hear. He sat down again, face in his hands to hide the fact he was almost crying. "Of course it's hard to forgive you, but I also haven't forgiven myself yet," Jake reached for the glass of water, "for multiple reasons."

Dirk took a big breath, picked up his water and chugged down a few gulps, then wiped the tears from his eyes, "You're telling me that you don't forgive yourself for letting me treat you like shit, even though you didn't deserve it at all?" Dirk put his hands together and looked at Jake quizzically.

"No! I mean, slightly? But no, not only that I let you treat me like shit, I did the same to you." Jake was silent for a few seconds, "The more we're going to talk now, the more I'm going to realize that we should've done way earlier, maybe even from the beginning." 

"But you weren't able to, and I never wanted to because I still had-"

"-You still had your emotional walls up. You really did know how to make yourself unapproachable." Jake chuckled, "I'm glad you're changing for the better."

"I'm glad I can fucking talk to you again. Hell, that I can talk to most people again." Dirk shook his head in regret of his past selves actions.

"Yes! I heard you were talking to Dave again, and I couldn't help but hope I'd get my buddy back." He smiled, watching the surface of his water intently as he sloshed it around slightly.   
Dirk looked up at Jake, thinking back to when they were actually still in a relationship, and before that, when they were just buddies. Jake had always been a delight to talk to. Sure, his taste in movies was atrocious, but Dirk could always enjoy how he could go on and on about the latest film he would've watched. He was genuinely funny, even though Dirk never really expressed that feeling.   
He had forgotten why he'd fallen in love with Jake before. He was so focused on his goal of dating him that he didn't even enjoy the way there. 

"Dave's been helping me... A lot. It could've been a better choice to go to Rose or Kanaya, but I just don't have the same kind of..." Dirk hadn't finished his thought before speaking, and had to stop mid-sentence to collect his thought, "The same kind of bond with them as I do with Dave."

"You are basically brothers, after all." Jake smiled at him, a warm smile, a genuine smile. 

A small silence fell before Jake started speaking again, "You can always talk to me, you know that, right? After we broke up, you stopped talking to me, and I was so torn between screaming at you, and wanting to comfort you." He took another sip of his water, as if it actually was tea, "Just don't leave me to fend for myself like that again. As it turns out, not having a best buddy to talk to makes you feel really lonely." He chuckled.

"I know the feeling, man, basically started to isolate myself. Finally getting out of that after... How long has it been? Three years?" Dirk's smile faded, frowning. Jake nodded slowly, opening his mouth to say something, then closing it. 

"Keep in touch with me, I want to know what you're doing! I've always had an interest in how you do your robotics and such!" Dirk smiled at that, said something of affirmation, then gave his snapchat to Jake, "Scandalous how I don't even have your snap, man."

"Only Roxy and Dave have it, actually. I don't use it that much. I don't use any kind of social media that much." Jake could guess why, "Anyway, that's not really important?" He didn't start the sentence as a question, but it turned into one as he finished it. "I'm willing to show you the ropes of how codes and such work if you're up for it sometime, but that's up to you. Just come on by again." 

"Oh that'd be great! I've always had an interest, but neither the patience, parts, or correct information to find out how it works, and the information I did gather is probably outdated by now." Jake sighed overdramatically, then smirked at Dirk. He smiled back.

Dirk thought for a moment, thinking about what to say next. Then he realized what Jake had been doing since they fell out of touch, "Wait shouldn't you be on set right now? Recording some show or whatever?" 

"No, everything got cancelled today, weirdly." Dirk knew Jake was lying through his teeth, and gave him a look for it, "Okay fine, yes, I was supposed to be recording, but I called in sick once I got your text." Dirk took a moment to realize what he said. He dropped everything to talk to him? Dirk couldn't help but relax into the couch more.

"Dude, don't do that! Sure, I appreciate it, but if I knew I was holding up your work I would've suggested a time you were actually free!" Jake looked taken aback at the tone in Dirk's voice. It wasn't a bad thing, now he could actually hear how he was saying something, with actual emphasis on words. Dirk had been growing, breaking mental walls and allowing himself to show emotion! Jake's look of surprise turned into a smile.

He picked up his glass of water and smirked at Dirk, "Sounds like somebody finally found out how to use tone in their sentences." He joked. Dirk nodded, a smirk on his face.

"Blame Dave."

"Yeah I'll thank him."

Dirk had missed this. A lot. He hadn't been thinking about it, but maybe because he and Jake fell apart, he lost his guide on how to actually interact with people too. He had to find out how to do it again by himself, and it took him so long he started to give up on it. Until he finally broke down enough to realize his problem and called Dave. It was a turning point on his mentality, first admitting to yourself you need help, and then actually reaching out.

For a while Jake had tried to ignore his feelings, he wanted to forget Dirk existed, then he remembered that putting all of the blame on somebody else isn't the right way to cope with hard emotions, and tried to better himself, thought about what he did wrong himself. He'd beaten himself up for it, sure, but there were more important things to focus on. He didn't have time to wallow in self-pity and lock himself in his house.  
They both did what they needed to do to cope with how fast everything had gone. No, how they did so wasn't perfect, neither healthy at some points, but they got through it.

And then when they felt confident enough to do so, they were sitting on Dirk's couch, talking about everything that came to mind. 

Dirk chuckled, "Anyway, I'm probably holding you up from something, whatever that may be. You took a free day, go celebrate it."

"I feel this was a fine way to do so, by catching up with an old chum, but I would like to go home, relax, maybe grab some ice cream on the way and put on a good movie, ever feel like that?" 

"Man, that's been day to day life for me. I think it's been good for me that I've been socializing again. Yes, nerve-racking, but good." Jake nodded in agreement, and got off of the couch. He stood there, waiting for Dirk to get up too so they could properly say goodbye. They walked to the door together and Jake put out his hand for a handshake, but Dirk ignored it and pulled him into a hug.

"I've missed you, man, call me sometime, when you have time." Dirk said. Jake held back a laugh and hugged him back.

"Of course buddy, I'll text you during my shows breaks. Don't forget, you promised me you'll teach me coding."

They let each other go, and Dirk put his hands up defensively, "Hey, I said I'll show you the ropes, I don't think I'm qualified to actually teach you the hard shit." Then dropped his hands again.

"That's fine with me." Jake smiled warmly as Dirk opened the door to let Jake out. "Keep in touch, okay?"

"Okay." Dirk almost whispered it as he smiled. Jake waved as he walked towards his car.   
Dirk watched him drive away, slightly waving.

He closed the door behind him as he went back inside, leaned against the door and slid down it. Sat on the floor he took out his phone and sent Dave a text.

"You and Karkat were right, talking to Jake helped."


End file.
